Hostage taker shot at Discovery Channel headquarters

The building was evacuated after reports that the man has something strapped to his chest

Editor’s Note: CNN has reported that negotiations were already underway with a man named James Lee — who potentially could possess one or more explosive devices — when SWAT officers were allegedly seen entering the headquarters building for Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland. Aaron Cohen, a former member of Sayeret Duvdevan, one of Israel’s most elite special forces groups, and now a police trainer, said on CNN that the fact that the situation appears to be slowing down indicates that negotiations are ongoing.

By Sarah BrumfieldAssociated Press

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Police shot a man upset with the Discovery Channel network's programming who took three people hostage at the company's headquarters Wednesday, officials said. All three hostages escaped safely.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said he did not know whether police killed the gunman, who was upset about the network's programming. Police spent several hours negotiating with him after he burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. waving a handgun and with canisters strapped to his body.

Manger said an explosive device may have detonated, and the suspect may have brought other devices into the building. He said as far as he knows, the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to get out safely.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing said authorities had identified James J. Lee as the likely suspect.

A different official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said Lee previously protested outside the building, where he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in February 2008, according to court records.

Police reports indicate he paid homeless people to join his protest and carry signs outside the building. He gave one individual $1,000 for what he considered a prize winning essay.

At one point, a crowd of more than 100 people gathered around Lee, 43, who referred to money as "just trash" and began throwing fistfuls of it into the air.

At the trial, The Gazette of Montgomery County reported, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego. He said he was inspired by "Ishmael," a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn and by former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

A lengthy posting which could be seen Wednesday on a website registered to Lee expressed anger against the Discovery Channel and said it promoted overpopulation.

He said it and its affiliates should stop "encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants." Instead, he said, the network should air "programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility."

"NO MORE BABIES! Population growth is a real crisis," he wrote.

He also railed against "programs promoting War" and said solutions should be found for global warming and automotive and factory pollution.

"I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so," he wrote. "I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it."

Animal Planet also airs the controversial series "Whale Wars," about attempts by environmentalists to disrupt the Japanese whaling industry.

After Lee's arrest, a magistrate ordered a doctor's evaluation, but court records do not immediately indicate the result. Lee was convicted by a jury and served two weeks in jail. He was also ordered to stay 500 feet away from Discovery headquarters.

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery's education division, told The Associated Press by phone that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard there was a situation in the building.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, lock the door and turn off the lights. Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

"Everyone was very scared, but at the same time ... I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation," said Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company's daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out. He later got an e-mail that all the children were safe and had been taken to a McDonald's.

Dolan said the company has unarmed security guards who won't let anyone into the building without a badge.

Melissa Shepard, 32, of Peterborough, N.H., a consultant who works there during the week, said she was on the third floor in a large room with several other workers when someone announced over a loudspeaker that there was a situation in the lobby and people should stay at their desks.

After some time, they were told to move to the other end of the building. She said she was among a dozen workers who huddled into an office, shut the door and turned off the lights.

Then she said someone knocked on the door and told them to leave the building. She said there was some confusion as they were told to go to an upper floor or down the stairs.

"Finally, I screamed, 'tell us where we need to go...I just want to get out of there,'" she said. "I was shaking...I was like what do we do what do we do?'"

Authorities descended on the area, and people were being kept away from the main drag of the downtown area where the building is located amid restaurants and shops. Traffic was jammed.

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